Pregnancy causes your body to become a home to a number of changes, including a naturally lowered immune system which can put you at an increased risk of many common illnesses such as sore throats. For many expecting a mother, they often question what to take for sore throat while pregnant without harming baby’s health?
There are a few safe and effective treatments you can try. When you have minor pain, like a sore throat, it feels much more unbearable, particularly when you do not know what remedies are safe.
The solution is knowing which drugs and treatments are safe for your growing baby, but still give you the relief you need. A lot of pregnant people will experience sore throat from many physiological shifts during pregnancy. Knowing the causes will help you to ease the sore throat symptoms.
Causes of sore throat while pregnant
Viral infections and weakened immune response - The immune system is altered during pregnancy, they make these changes to protect the developing baby. These adaptations to immune responses also continue to change how your body responds to viral infections, like a cold or stomach flu, that may have some symptoms like sore throat.
Essentially, your immune system is more tolerant to infections, meaning that if you were not pregnant you may fight them, while pregnancy can enhance some immune cells, and reduce some immune responses that are more aggressive. The duality of this change enhances safety for your baby, and leads to an increase in the potential of you being susceptible to infection.
Hormonal changes and irritation to throat sensitivity - You may notice some mild throat discomfort, and possibly even swollen glands early on in your pregnancy, this can be your body's first response to the new hormonal environment. Your pregnancy hormones can affect nasal passage swelling and sensitivity to post nasal drip, causing irritation. Postural changes from increased blood can also have an effect on enlarged tissues in the mucus membranes of the throat.
Allergies and environmental stimulation - Pregnancy can also create stronger allergic reactions or bring on new sensitivities. These stronger allergic reactions will usually present similar to how things look when you have a sore throat; you may have drainage, and possibly itchy eyes.
In addition, environmental stimuli, like dry air, pollutants or allergens may increase your throat irritation. In pregnancy, nasal sinuses can engorge, which might also make you feel like you are experiencing worsening congestion, than when not pregnant.
Digestive issues - Many pregnant women, nearly 80 percent, will have some level of acid reflux during their pregnancy. Hormonal and digestive changes that occur in pregnancy will contribute to their experience of acid reflux. Ideal conditions for pregnancy (hormonal changes) lead to the reflux of stomach acid in relation to factors of physiology.
As an example, continued rise in progesterone during pregnancy will tend to relax the lower esophageal sphincter, which allows backflow of acidic contents from the stomach back into the esophagus. Throughout the period of pregnancy, the enlarging uterus places pressure upward on the stomach (more so in the third trimester) as well as change the digestion process and slowing the digestion speed which retains food in the stomach longer.
So, when stomach acid backflow continually enters women throat and/or mouth, they become irritated and, therefore, may result in a burning type pain. If acidic backflow is accompanied by sore throat, it may have additional symptoms in conjunction with sore throat such as heartburn, regurgitation, chest pain and/or or hoarse (chronic laryngitis) voice.
In general, sore throats could be considered benign/harmless in pregnancy, however it may still be useful to determine what their dull or sore throat may be related to, in order to properly judge how to manage sore throat while being aware of the pregnant person and developing fetus' safety.
Safe sore throat medicine during pregnancy
Selecting the correct sore throat medicine for pregnancy is about finding what is safe for the mother and the baby. The good part is many of the OTC options have been extensively studied and are safe to use during pregnancy.
Acetaminophen was utilized as the reference drug in pain management in pregnant women. This drug is good for reducing the discomfort from a sore throat and any fever that comes with it without passing through the placenta in enough quantity to be harmful.
Doctors and midwife consistently recommend acetaminophen as the first and optimal treatment for obtaining relief of a sore throat for pregnant women. For targeted throat relief, certain throat sprays or lozenges are considered safe options to relieve throat pain locally.
Also, a Chloraseptic spray will numb an inflamed area rapidly, so that you can get at least temporary relief at the site of your pain, and lozenges containing Benzocaine can relieve discomfort for a temporary pain relief. When choosing safe lozenges for a sore throat during pregnancy, opt for products whose active features are Benzocaine or Menthol, as they have proven to have a good safety record.
A cough suppressant ingredient known as Dextromethorphan, it is considered safe provided that the recommended dosage is not exceeded (maximum 120mg in 24 hours). It is also especially safe for a sore throat and a cough during pregnancy as it works on both instead of just one.
But some drugs should never be taken during pregnancy. Aspirin tablet also carries a higher bleeding risk complications and should never be used. Both Ibuprofen and Naproxen can disrupt fetal development, potentially harming the baby’s cardiovascular system. Medications that contain codeine are also avoided because they could cause respiratory depression in a newborn.
A sore throat while pregnant may sometimes feel more concerning than normal; not because the condition itself is a matter of risk but because of the unknown (sometimes anxiety provoking) outcome of treating it. There are simple home treatments for a mild sore throat that can be very effective including: Gargling salt water, honey and lemon (lemon-honey drinks), hydration, steam (humidified air) and adequate rest.
Additionally, if you have irritating throat pain and/or fever, you may take a short round of Acetaminophen safely, and throat lozenges or natural throat spray to for added relief. A regular prescription of antibiotics and stronger medications need to be monitored and prescribed.
The bottom line in terms of sore throats in pregnancy is you need to know when to panic and when to just let it go. There is a narrow band between something serious that needs attention and something really non-serious. Start with safe natural care, recognize if you have warning signs that may be a complication happening, and seek medical assessment before the sore throat gets better, or worsens.
